The Saskatchewan Roughriders hope their first selection in Tuesday’s CFL Global Draft is just another Guy.
Australian-born Adam Korsak, claimed third overall by the Green and White, is the reigning winner of the Ray Guy Award — presented annually to the top punter in NCAA football.
Korsak, 25, attended the Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie mini-camp on Monday. He is also ticketed for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie mini-camp, scheduled for May 12 to 14. The Roughriders’ main training camp is to begin May 14 in Saskatoon.
“We reached out to his representation to see if it didn’t pan out in the NFL, would he come to Canada?” Roughriders General Manager and Vice-President of Football Operations Jeremy O’Day said Tuesday morning, shortly after the two-round Global Draft concluded.
“He said he was coming to Canada if he didn’t get signed, so we felt like he was the right pick to come in and compete with Kaare (Vedvik). We’re trying to create some great competition, so that’s why we picked him.”
Vedvik, from Norway, signed with Saskatchewan in October of 2021 and averaged 46.0 yards per boot (with a net of 37.8) in four games at the tail end of that season.
While playing in all 18 games last year, Vedvik averaged 44.5 yards per punt, with a net of 36.2.
Korsak played in 12 games with Rutgers last year, averaging 44.0 yards per punt. Thirty-two of his 75 punts hit the ground inside the opposition’s 20-yard line. Only one of the 75 punts was returned for positive yardage.
And here’s the real eye-popper: The punt-return yardage (or lack thereof) against Korsak last season — minus-11.
“Obviously, there’s a reason why he won the Ray Guy Award,” O’Day said. “I think his style fits our league very well. He’s a very accurate punter.”
Korsak, from Melbourne, is the NCAA’s all-time leader in punts (349) and punt yardage (15,318). Only seven of his punts went for a touchback.
As a freshman in 2019, Korsak established a Rutgers school record for the longest punt (79 yards). His averages that season were 42.7 (gross) and 40.1 (net).
He followed up in 2020 by averaging 43.0 (gross) and 42.3 (net).
Then came a banner 2021 season in which his net average (45.3) established an NCAA record. His gross average was 45.8.
Then came a 2022 season in which 14 of his punts travelled 50-plus yards and 35 were fair-caught.
In Tuesday’s second round (11th overall), the Roughriders chose Italian defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado.
Baldonado, 23, was born in Rome and moved to Florida in 2017, in time to play one season of American high school football.
At Clearwater Academy International, Baldonado amassed 30 ½ sacks. He also caught nine passes for 220 yards — an average of 24.4 yards per reception — and two touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder spent the next five years (including a redshirt campaign) with the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.
He was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2021 after registering nine sacks in 14 games as a first-year starter.
In nine games last season, Baldonado had 25 defensive tackles, two sacks, five tackles for a loss, two pass knockdowns and a blocked kick.
Baldonado was recently signed by the NFL’s New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.
O’Day felt comfortable waiting on Baldonado because their second-round pick in the 2022 Global Draft — linebacker Lukas Ruoss — has signed with the Roughriders.
“We knew that since we got Lukas going into the draft, we really didn’t have a super-priority to grab a special-teamer or a linebacker type when we already had one that was going to be signed here,” O’Day explained. “At that point, we thought the risk was worth the reward.
“(Baldonado) is a very good player who played at Pittsburgh. We were all really surprised that he didn’t get drafted in the NFL.
“It’s a wild card. We don’t know if we’ll ever see him, but at that point of the Global Draft, we thought the risk was worth it.
“We felt we were in a good spot with Kaare and the Globals we already have on our roster. Adding these picks and adding Lukas makes it a little bit easier.”
